Then, knowing that he must be thinking her very stupid, she answered,
“Yes – yes – of course.”
The Earl walked across the room to stand with his back to the fireplace.
“I want to talk to you, Marista,” he said. “Come and sit down.”
She obeyed him, moving slowly towards the armchair on the hearthrug and, when she was seated in it, the Earl sat down opposite her.
His eyes were on her face and, because he made her feel shy, she looked away from him as she asked,
“You are not – angry with – Anthony?”
“I sent for him for a different reason,” the Earl replied, “and that is what I have come to tell you about.”
Because she was frightened at what she was about to hear, Marista’s eyes widened and there was a look of fear in their grey depths.
“I have had a long talk with your brother,” he
